The Alzheimer’s Impact Movement, the Alzheimer’s Association and our nationwide network of dedicated advocates are celebrating breaking news from Washington – federal research funding for Alzheimer’s at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has received a $400 million increase in the FY2017 budget.

We first shared with you the Senate Appropriations and House Appropriations Committee’s intent to once again pass an historic funding increase in the summer and today it was officially signed into law by the president. Today’s news would not be possible without the work of AIM, the Alzheimer’s Association and our advocates. Since last year, we have held thousands of meetings with members and their staff requesting they invest at least an additional $400 million in Alzheimer’s research funding.

This marks the second consecutive year that Alzheimer’s research funding has been singled out for historic funding increases. Still, more work remains.

Today, Alzheimer’s costs the nation, $259 billion in 2017, with $175 billion coming in direct costs to Medicare and Medicaid. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that by mid-century the cost of Alzheimer’s is projected to more than quadruple to $1.1 trillion. Yet, despite today’s funding increase, Alzheimer’s research funding at the NIH is still well below what is needed if researchers are to meet the primary goal of the national plan to find a method of treatment or prevention by 2025.

Demonstrating the urgency of this crisis, the NIH Professional Judgment Budget commissioned by Congress has already recommended a $414 million increase in spending on Alzheimer’s disease research for fiscal year 2018. The Alzheimer’s Association and AIM are already working to ensure that today’s increase is not the last. Just last month, a record-breaking 1,300 advocates from across the country came to Washington, D.C. for the Advocacy Forum and asked Congress to continue to act.

Keep up the good work having a very close family member who is at the end of the MODERATE stage of dementia I know from experience just exactly how much and how fast this disease ROBS it's victims of their very degenity and how much it hurts to see someone you love so dearly go through such a senseless disease

Thank you for your bipartisan support of critical funding for Alzheimer's Research! It will not only benefit current citizens suffering from this disease (and their caregivers), but also future greatly increasing numbers of Americans who will suffer from this terrible disease if we do not make progress. As the daughter of a mother who had Alzheimer's for the last 8+ years of her life, I hope my child never has to bear the sorrow and stress of overseeing my care in the future. Your support must be current and ongoing until we find the cure! Many thanks…

thank you so much for being the voice for Alzheimer's patients. more funding is a must and should be an obligation for more research and for ways to keep patients home instead of going to nursing homes for proper care.

Thank you for this very important funding. With more being diagnosed with Alzheimer's/dementia, it is extremely urgent as we have an aging population/ My husband had dementia and passed quickly according to most standards and I do not want to be dependent on anyone for my care.

Thank you for this critical funding for Alzheimer's Research! I currently work within a Memory Care facility and it is so important to us that we continue the research to find a cure or to have effective medication that can be given to stop the process from going too far. So many families with ones suffering from this terrible disease have to endure watching as their loved ones slowly fade away, yet they continue to live but are no longer aware of their surroundings and their own children. Until researchers are successful we need this continued support. The continued funding will not only benefit ones currently suffering from this disease (and their caregivers), but also future greatly increasing numbers of Americans who will suffer from this terrible disease if we do not make progress. We need government to push through approvals on the researchers new drugs, families are desperate to help their loved ones to live longer, more productive fulfilling lives lives the risk is not too great to try. Please know that thousands of care-givers are praying for help.

Thank you for your funding. We just found out my father has Alzheimer’s. The word is and sounds so deplorable. My father is adopted and we have recently found out that this is very strong as 2 generations of his biological family have suffered and eventually passed from this dignity taking debilitating disease. To hear that 1 in 8 people will have this disease is mind boggling. I hope with these funds we can find a way for the future generations to have a chance to overcome forgetting themselves and their loved ones. To lose beautiful minds and memories that we all hope to have once we grow old and to have nothing to remember on that last breath of life, is stealing! Thanks again for your votes to fund any findings even if it gives us more time.